Where Is the Love, China?

One such country is China, who seem to have a love-hate relationship (currently set to hate) with Bitcoin. During their honeymoon phase, Chinese authorities were hesitant but accepted Bitcoin in all its decentralized glory. Investors in the country were looking forward to putting their money into something that wasn’t controlled by the iron fist of the country’s heavily regulated financialindustry.

Excerpts from the MIT Technology Reviewstate that, in 2013, more Bitcoinwallets were downloaded by computers located in China than in all of the countries in the rest of the world combined. That year also saw $35 million in Bitcoin being moved around the Chinese exchange on a daily basis. As of September this year, more than two thirds of bitcoins were mined in China.

Bitcoin did, however, offer a way for its holders to sidestep the country’s strict capitalcontrols. China’s concern at how much of their currency was leaving the country resulted in them setting a limit of $50,000 worth of yuan outflow per person per year. With Bitcoin, holders could buy the crypto in yuan, sell it on a US exchange and then withdraw the dollars. China attempted to stop this by prohibiting financial institutions from transacting with Bitcoinexchanges.

Bitcoin’s popularity continued to grow throughout the world, and especially in China. In fact, last year saw most of the world’s Bitcoin trades being in yuan. Then 2017 happened. From the beginning of this year, the currency has grown by over 1000%, really turning up the heat for regulation-happy countries.

September this year saw China step up their regulation, or perhaps clampdown, game by banning ICOs in the country. This move may have caused anger in the hearts of crypto enthusiasts, yet the country’s own crypto community took it in stride.

China did seem to have a good reason though. Technology Review reports that the consensus was that nearly 90% of ICOs in China were run by fraudsters. Because Bitcoininterest was running high, everyone wanted to get in on the action, including inexperienced investors. Easy pickings for ICO scammers.

Da Hongfei, founder of NEO, which is also known as the ‘Chinese Ethereum,’ understood the ban. This understanding came after driving on Germany’s famous Autobahn, a highway system in Germany that has no speed limit. He says driving here is possible as:

They have good-quality roads, they have a very strict test for a driver’s license. Everybody is obeying the traffic rules, and they have very good-quality cars.

He added:

If we don’t do a speed limit in China, or even maybe the United States, that would be a disaster.

This would be a great comparison, if China’s actions didn’t essentially close the ICO highway. Perhaps it could be a temporary ban as the country works on regulating the process. This is a sentiment shared by industry experts.

Lu Bin, CEO of Shanghai-based startup, Andui, held his ICO in August this year and raised more than $20 million. However, all of that money had to be returned once the ban was in effect. Surprisingly, Bin took the same stance as the authorities and felt that the ban was more of a protective measure against fraud. He is now raising capital through privateinvestment and is optimistic about the future of crypto in China. He said:

We are believers. We believe the Chinese market is eventually going to open.

He added that if cryptocurrency reaches its goal of mainstream adoption, China would not want to miss that particular train.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be applying their own regulations by possibly enforcing start-ups to register with the SEC before conducting their ICOs.

Holders have also started trading on the Telegram messaging app. Even though said app is blocked in the country, it can be accessed through VPNs. Overseas-based exchanges are also an option, as is using the WeChat messaging app, even though the latter is monitored by authorities.

After the country’s ICO ban, the price of Bitcoin did drop. However, it has more than recovered in the interim. It reached the $20,000 mark on some exchanges. It seems to have a knack for getting back up, with a vengeance, after it’s been knocked down.

When China started regulating Bitcoin, it sent a message that China takes this currency very seriously. The market sees that Bitcoin is something that governments are afraid of, so it must be really powerful.

It does seem as if all of China’s efforts to control the currency has been in vain, probably due to the fact that by its very nature, it cannot be controlled. Bobby Lee added:

Bitcoin itself did not break after China banned it. Every time you try to whack Bitcoin and it doesn’t die, it becomes stronger.